District of



(No Model.)

J.A.MALONEY.

CONVERTIBLE TELEGRAPH KEY.

No. 343,469. Patented June a, 1886.

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UNITED ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. MALONEY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF,GOLUMBIA.

CONVERTIBLE TELEGRAPH-KEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 343,469, dated June 8,1886.

Application filed April '20, 1886. Serial No. 199.537. (No model.)

To all whom it mag concern.-

Be it known that I,JAMEs A.MALONEY, a citi-- zen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Convertible TelegraplrKeys; and Ido hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exactdescription oftheinvention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same. 7

The invention relates to telegraph-keys, and has for its object animprovement on the iustrument shown in my Patents. No. 336,653, ofFebruary 23, and No. 339,909, of April 13, 1886, and has specialreference to the construction of the opposite contact or anvil.

In my former patents threeseparate opposite contact-points are shown forthe lever to strike against, while the lever is adapted to operate atany angle of inclination, and would strike an opposite contact or anvilat any point of a circle described by its revolution. In

practice with this key it has been discovered that the lever must becarefully adjusted to bring the hammer thereon in line with the separateopposite contacts or anvils on the frame come this objection I havedevised my present t improvement.

The invention will hereinafter be described, and particularly pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a plan; Fig. 2, a side elevation, and Fig. 3 an endview.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters marked thereon, Aindicates the base upon which the several parts ofthe instrument aremounted.

B is the key or operating-lever,made in two parts, a 1), arranged in thesame lineal plane and between which is interposed a leaf-spring, c,which renders the lever flexible and imparts to it a degree ofresiliency capable of return ing the lever to its normal position aftereach stroke produced by the hand of the operator. The section a of thelever B is provided with a journal, d, which is seated in ajournal-bearing, 6, formed in the post 0, which is secured to the baseA. Thejournal'd is securely held in its bearing 6 by means of a screw,it, which is provided with an enlarged head, i, which bears against therear face of the post 0 while the screw engages with the end of thelever forming the journal.

The lever B is secured in any position in which it may be desired tooperate it by a set-screw, It will be observed that by journaling theleverin the plane of its longitudinal axis it rotates thereon, andislcapable ofbeing operated vertically, right and left handhorizontally, or at any angle of inclination intermediate of itshorizontal plane. To accommodate this adjustment of the lever B and toprovide an opposite contact or anvil adapted to receive the impact ofthe hammer a on said lever' at any point inits revolution below itshorizontal plane, I have devised the anvil Z, which may be made of anymaterial which is a good conductor and not liable to oxidation.

In the present instance the anvil Zis provided with a continuouscontact-surface, m, in the form of an arc of a circle corresponding withthe sweep of the hammer'or upper contact-,a, and is secured to thebase-plate in the usual manner. By this construction of the anvil acontinuous surface, without any break in its continuity, is presented tothe hammer a on the lever B of the instrument, whereby any adjustment ofsaid lever will always find an opposite contact against which the hammermay operate below its horizontal plane. D is an arm which may be securedto or form an integral part of the section a of lever B and revolvestherewith. The arm D projects out from said section a of the lever Bimmediately over the section b, and is provided with a screw, it, whichprojects through the arm,

and at its lower end engages with the lever B to regulate the spacethrough which said lever travels in signaling.

' To prevent any possible lateral movement of the lever in signaling, anaperture or seat, 0, is formed in the lever into which the end of thescrew it projects.

E is an arc-shaped frame, race, or guide,which forms abearing-surfaceforacushioning-spring, p, which is adjusted by a screw, q, supported bythe lever B. The lever is also provided ICO with the usual button, F,and to the baseplate A are secured bindingposts G G, and a switchlever,H.

It is obvious that the contact-surface of the anvil can be extended toform a circle should it be found expedient.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is l. Atelegraph-key having a revoluble operating'levcr, in combination with ananvil provided with a continuous contact-surface adapted to receive theimpact of the lever at any angle at which it may he desired to operatethe instrument, substantially as described.

2. A telegraph-key having" a revoluble operatingdever, in combinationwith an anvil JAMES A. \IALONEY.

Witnesses:

1B. LEWIS BLAOKFORI), R. (l. ToDI-IUN'rnR.

